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Dogs and other household pets are fuelling the rise of so-called superbugs by acting as a “reservoir” of drug-resistant bacteria, a leading scientist has warned.

Dr Tim Nuttall, a veterinary dermatologist at the University of Liverpool, has shown that 40 per cent of healthy pet dogs carry multi-drug-resistant strains of bacteria, a higher proportion than seen in people, highlighting pets as a potentially important source of antibiotic-resistant germs.

Scientists have previously shown that bacteria frequently crosses the species barrier between owners and pets, meaning that any problem in pets is likely to affect the wider human population. The findings come